Meeting with a Real Leader

It is not within the nature of some people to tread on the path made by others. They prefer to etch their own path and be an inspiration to people to follow in their footsteps. Very aptly the world has given these people the title of the ‘Leader’, with some frequent variations to it when applied to the corporate structure of a company. Within a corporate structure, there are leaders heading different divisions with different tasks. While leadership comes with a lot of pride, it also has its fair share of difficulties.

Leadership doesn’t just mean throwing one’s weight around and making people scuttle about the place to do your bidding. When you’re a leader it is in your hands to squeeze the utmost productivity out of your team. This again doesn’t mean burdening one’s team mates with a donkey’s load and watching them crumble under it. As a leader one has the unique responsibility of boosting the confidence of the team and making the work they have been allotted seem less like a burden, and more like a fun task, all the while producing serious and lucrative results.

As a leader one of the most difficult things to handle apart from bad results are the corporate company meetings that are held ever so frequently. There are days when CEO’s and other heads of divisions wake up and simply feel too unproductive to conduct a meeting with their teams. This is a bad scenario as the entire team depends on the guidance of the leader. If the confidence of the leader lies at the bottom of the ocean then the morale of the entire team is pulled down as well.

While it is understandable that sometimes one finds their own morale ebbing away when they need it the most, the situation can be helped by following a few useful tips.

Cracking Leadership Woes

Handling company meetings can be a tricky task. A lot of results of a meeting depend on how well prepared one is for the meeting.

Frame Targets and Plans

A meeting will not achieve good results and empower employees if it has no direction or aim. According to people who have studied the corporate meeting structure, they say meetings are categorized in to four classes- long tem planning meetings, short term planning meetings, action oriented meetings and creative meetings.

Long term plan meetings: These are meetings in which long term goals and strategies are formed. The strategies should involve the commitment and participation of the entire team.

Short term plan meetings: These sort of meetings require interaction and participation of all members to solve problems and strategize effective solutions for the near future.

Action-oriented meetings: These meetings are to inform and educate employees about problems that require immediate attention and need to be solved within a restricted time frame.

Creative meetings: Creative meetings are held to let loose the creative juices of each individual. The basic aim of the meetings is to come up with out-of the-box solutions that can create an impression on the consumers. Here it’s important to take into account every idea put forth by various individuals.

Paying attention to the ranking ladder in the company structure

As a leader it is one’s duty to understand company hierarchy and how it affects the productivity of the employees. Some individuals like working in a team with an effective leader at the head of it. Some people might prefer to work in a team with no hierarchy. To get the best out of the employees, make sure they are given a comfortable setting that benefits both them and you. It also helps adjust your personality once in a while when dealing with employees. Sometimes, leadership requires you to take a stand and make firm decisions even if it means that the employees may not be happy with it. Sometimes you might also have to take a laidback stance to put the team at ease and make them comfortable.

No matter how effective the strategies generated are, it will all be futile unless both the leader and the team are well prepared. As a leader it’s important not to just walk in and expect people to come out with ideas for a new campaign or solution to problems but it is important to turn up with a few mathematical charts, graphical analysis, or statistics that give a clear idea to the team as to why they are doing what they are doing. Make sure employees carry out the same investigations as well, and prepare suitable props or presentations to explain their tactics and why it could be successful.

Time is money

One of the most important things to remember is that time is invaluable. People work better under moderate time constraints. As a leader it’s very important to ensure that work given out follows timing constraints and deadlines.

The above tips should be valuable to leaders of teams and companies on how to get the best out of their employees.